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North Carolina’s highest court should reverse $6 million defamation ruling against The News & Observer

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Thirty media and news organizations, led by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, are urging the North Carolina Supreme Court to reverse a ruling in a defamation lawsuit filed against The News & Observer that resulted in a $6 million verdict against the newspaper.

Desmond is a public official, meaning she must prove the newspaper acted with “actual malice” when it published the story to prevail in a defamation case. The coalition argues that the appeals court erred when it affirmed the trial court’s holding that Desmond had proven actual malice.

The Court of Appeals “misinterpreted the actual malice standard by not requiring Desmond to prove that the Newspaper Defendants knew the published statements were false or had serious doubts about their veracity,” the coalition stated in its brief.

The coalition further argued that the ruling threatens to “chill the fundamental public interest in ‘uninhibited, robust, and wide-open’ debate about the conduct of public officials.”

“Journalists reporting on controversies and disputes within forensic science fosters public awareness of the criminal justice system,” the coalition argued. “Fear of unwarranted defamation liability will make the news media less likely to report on these complicated issues, and the public will therefore lose the benefit of valuable information about our law enforcement and criminal justice systems.”

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